Bordelon, who visited the City Council last week and again Wednesday, complained of a rash of burglaries in his Washington Avenue corridor neighborhood.

"When I did speak with the police on the telephone yesterday, the sergeant indicated that, in fact - and he made a very strong point several times - crime was not increasing. I'm here to tell you it is," Bordelon said. "The crime is significant in my neighborhood, and it's not being addressed."

Bordelon's remarks came as Mayor Annise Parker and Police Chief Charles McClelland touted an 8 percent drop in crime during their three years in charge, compared with the prior three years, crediting prudent use of technology, good police work, the awareness and cooperation of the public and efforts to educate citizens about crime prevention.

Robberies jumped more than 16 percent in 2012 from the year prior, and murders and car thefts also increased, but the number of reported rapes, aggravated assaults, burglaries and thefts all declined. The seven categories are known as Part I crimes under the Uniform Crime Reports, a national index compiled by the FBI.

Overall, 129,288 such crimes were reported in Houston in 2012, 60 more than in 2011.

Not everywhere

Some crime experts, however, say citywide numbers may mean little to the average Houstonian, like Bordelon, whose experience of crime is at street level. Others add that the data provide only a limited picture of crime in a city.

"What you take from the data depends on where you live," said Larry Hoover, a professor of criminal justice at Sam Houston State University. "The average citizen should be encouraged by the data. Whatever the background reasons, there's been real progress in crime control. But crime remains unacceptably high in many stressed neighborhoods. Crime is not evenly distributed across any major city, including Houston."

Hoover added that Bordelon's area does not appear to be a "stressed neighborhood" with fundamental crime problems, but more likely is being targeted by a few prolific burglars.

Houston's experience mirrors a sharp national decline in crime rates that began in 1992 and has continued more gradually since 2000, Hoover said, likely driven by high incarceration rates and many other factors.

"When we say crime stats are going down, it could also be that citizens are not reporting crime as much. It could also be that certain types of crimes are moving to other parts of the city or outside of the city," he said. "When we say crime is going down in the city of Houston, it doesn't necessarily mean that citizens in Houston are safer."

Parker later referenced Bordelon's concerns, saying police data do not show a spike in crimes in his area. She asked residents to report all incidents to police, adding that citizens must help prevent crime by not, for instance, leaving valuables visible in their cars.

"If you are a crime victim, one crime is too many to you, and we understand that," McClelland said. "And, certainly, there are challenges, some pockets around this city that give us a little bit more difficulty than others. But I think we have improved in our efficiency by using technology to react to these type of hot spots more quickly."

Hoover said HPD deserves credit for implementing proven techniques such as hot spot policing and adding a center that tracks incidents nearly in real-time. HPD applied hot spot techniques last May in several neighborhoods after spikes in violent crimes during the first quarter of 2012.

District 18, which includes the Sharpstown area, had reported a 26 percent first-quarter increase over 2011, and ended 2012 with an increase of 5.7 percent, said HPD spokesman John Cannon. Nearby District 19, south of Interstate 10 and west of Beltway 8, had reported a 35 percent jump early last year, and ended the year with a 3.5 percent drop.